Citing concerns about firefighter safety, the Seattle Fire Department has doubled the number of people who will respond to calls at homeless shelters in Pioneer Square.
Capt. Shata Stephenson said in a statement that the department has gone from having two or four firefighters respond to “certain locations within Pioneer Square” to “at least six.”
“This will help the firefighters maintain an elevated awareness of the situation to be able to provide effective patient care,” Stephenson said in the statement. “If a Seattle Fire Department member determines a scene is not safe, or has high potential to become unsafe, additional units will be dispatched and a standby location will be designated.”
The policy, which the department said is “temporary,” started on May 21, after a firefighter was allegedly assaulted in the neighborhood.